Instagram cracks down on anti-vaccine hashtags

Instagram is cracking down on anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. The company announced Thursday that it will block hashtags that surface false information about vaccines.

With the change, which is beginning to take effect now, Instagram will prevent the hashtags it's identified from appearing in search results and hashtag pages. Instagram has previously done this to address hashtags associated with self harm or selling drugs.

The change comes as Facebook faces public pressure to do more to prevent anti-vaccination conspiracy theories and propaganda from spreading.

Importantly, the company isn't blocking anti-vaccination sentiment entirely. Instagram will make a distinction between specific, "scientifically false" information ("vaccines cause autism"), which will be blocked, and statements that are more vague ("vaccines make me feel bad"). Read more...

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